Mercedes driver is Britain's richest sportsman with a £68m fortune ahead of
Jenson Button and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney

Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton will be named as Britain’s wealthiest sportsman, among those currently competing in the 26th annual Sunday Times Rich List which is to be published in May.

Behind the Mercedes driver is his former team-mate at McLaren Jenson Button and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney who will be revealed as the Premier League's richest player with a net worth of £60m from his football earnings on and off the pitch.

Britain's 10 richest sportsmen

Rank

Name

Sport

2014 wealth

2013 wealth

1

Lewis Hamilton

Formula One

£68m

£60m

2

Jenson Button

Formula One

£63m

£58m

3

Wayne Rooney

Football/Man Utd

£60m

£51m

4

Steve Nash

Basketball/ Lakers

£56m

£53m

5

Rio Ferdinand

Football/Man Utd

£44m

£42m

6

Andy Murray

Tennis

£40m

£32m

7=

Steven Gerrard

Football/Liverpool

£37m

£33m

7=

Frank Lampard

Football/Chelsea

£37m

£34m

9=

Luol Deng

Basketball/ Bulls

£36m

£28m

9=

Ryan Giggs

Football/Man Utd

£36m

£34m

LA Lakers point guard, Steve Nash, born in South Africa and raised in Canada by his English father and Welsh mother, is Britain's fourth richest athlete with a £56m fortune.

The 2013 Wimbledon men’s tennis champion, Andy Murray, has added £8m to his fortune in a year and is now worth £40m according to the list.

The richest sportsman in Ireland is golfer Padraig Harrington, who is now worth £36m ahead of Rory McIlroy (£28m) and Fulham and Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff (£18m).

The guide is published and based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. It excludes bank accounts, to which the paper has no access.

Ireland's richest sportsmen

Rank

Name

Sport

2014 wealth

2013 wealth

1

Padraig Harrington

Golf

£36m

£34m

2

Rory McIlroy

Golf

£28m

£20m

3=

Damien Duff

Football/ Fulham

£18m

£18m

3=

Robbie Keane

Football/LA Galaxy

£18m

£16m

5

Darren Clarke

Golf

£17m

£16m

6

Graeme McDowell

Golf

£15m

£13m

Source: The Sunday Times Rich List 2014 – compiled by Philip Beresford, the leading authority on British wealth, and edited by Ian Coxon